Surrey Community Action

We're at the Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership Expo today at Epsom Downs Racecourse, talking to people about Good Neighbour Schemes and the support we offer to the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community in Surrey. If you're here, stop by and say hello!

The Civil Society Covenant is a new agreement to improve the relationship between civil society and government. The Covenant will: -support collaboration between civil society organisations and government -ensure respect for the different roles we play, and protect our independence support all public bodies and civil society organisations -build on and support existing agreements in place at a local level -complement other arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A strong, two-way relationship is vital to ensure organisations like yours can achieve your mission. Please give your feedback on the draft here: https://lnkd.in/egrnCiuu

Has your organisation experienced an increase in scam emails?

Our Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Advice and Guidance Officer hosted a meeting of the Surrey Gypsy Traveller Communities Forum at Astolat today. The Forum creates opportunities for public agencies, charities, interested individuals/groups & Traveller communities to talk to each other.

The Reigate & Banstead Strategic Grant fund is now open and welcomes applications for core funding from Voluntary, Community & Faith Sector Organisation’s (VCFS) supporting residents in Reigate & Banstead. https://lnkd.in/eFbmtcGz

Massive thanks to Surrey Community Action & specifically Justine Aldous for inviting Luke & myself to lead a session at this year’s Charity Mashup conference, the theme of which was “Collaboration”. The opening panel, hosted by Jason Gaskell, centred around the growing need for similar charities to create partnerships to make best use of limited funds & opportunities. This insightful discussion was kicked off by Michelle Blunsom MBE, who leads the Surrey Domestic Abuse Partnership: a group of four charities who work together across the whole of Surrey to ensure that survivors of domestic abuse are safe, and to build a future where domestic abuse is not tolerated. Next, we had Jonathan Lees, MD of The Good Company, a charity which works to prevent and alleviate poverty in East Surrey through a variety of services including foodbanks. Jonathan mentioned how collaboration takes time; contacts move on & you need to rebuild relationships again - a comment that resonates with everyone but is all the more true within the Higher Education sector, as we welcome a whole new cohort on an annual basis! Finally, Kerry Outlaw reiterated Michelle’s quote from Helen Keller, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”❤️ Workshop sessions followed including one on Collaboration from Emma Ewing of Big Fish Training. She cited an interesting collaboration between Network Rail and The Good Samaritan Society in which 30k staff were trained in suicide prevention, and this was subsequently expanded to include us all with the slogan “Small Talk Saves lives”. She also referenced Tuckman’s Team Development Model which I know Phil has previously cited: forming, storming, norming and performing! Luke & I challenged delegates’ existing perceptions of student volunteers with our session entitled, “Empowering Change: The Impact of Partnering with Student Volunteers for Charities”. We also talked about the different challenges faced by students these days, and how there are so many more demands upon their time but also their pockets. By tapping into students’ skill sets and making volunteering opportunities beneficial but also accessible, both parties will really reap the benefits. It was a great session and I really enjoyed the interactions we subsequently had! The final plenary was given by the brilliant Debra Allcock Tyler, CEO from the Directory of Social Change whom Royal Holloway Volunteering have now sounded out as keynote for our 2025 Volunteer Awards! Debra was a breath of fresh air, making the point that if there is less money in these financially challenging times then be open that deliverables will be reduced - obvious, yet I appreciate that in the charity sector that can be easier said than done. She also challenged perceptions that there are “too many charities” and why are similar charities viewed as “duplication” yet if the same comparison were to be made with supermarkets it would be considered “choice”. I could have listened to her all day!

Words can't describe how proud I am of my team at Surrey Community Action. We pulled off another brilliant conference, and I'm still buzzing! Thanks again to Michelle Blunsom MBE, Jonathan Lees and Kerry Outlaw MBA FCIPD for a great plenary, and to Debra Allcock Tyler for an amazing closing address, not to mention all our fab workshop leaders - Louise Morris, Emma Ewing, Brian Seaton, Nikki Roberts, Yasmin Broome, Luke Russell, Louise McGarr (Midgley). Time to start planning next year's!

A fantastic morning at the Surrey Community Action charity mash up 2024, a great opportunity to discuss collaboration with third sector colleagues in Surrey . Luminus #collaboration #coproduction

Well done all at Surrey Community Action for a fabulous conference today. So nice to see so many charity and community partners in person! #togetherwevan #community #collaboration